Method and machine for stretching slitted sheet metal.



F. J. WENDELL. METHOD AND MACHINE FOR STRETUHING SLITTED SHEET METAL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 27, 1904..

Patented Oct. 18, 1908.

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I .To all whom it may concern:

1 UNITE s'rnrss PATENT entice;

FERDINAND J. YWENDELL, on NEW YORK, N. 1., ASSIGNOR TO THE ROEBLING coNsTRUoTIoN COMPANY, or NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF 'NEW JERSEY.

METHOD, Ann MACHINE roe STBETO'HING suntan srrsn'r METAL:

Be'it known that I, FERDINAND J. WEN- DEEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements "in Methods and Ma chines for Stretching Slitted Sheet Metal,

fully described'and represented-in thefollowing specification,yand the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same Tfhis invention relates to improvements in methods and machines for stretchingor eX-. anding slitted sheet metal, the especial obect of the invention being to provide a sins-- p-le, rapid and efficient machine for produc- 'ing expanded metal of different classes.

n accord-ante with the method and machine embodying the. present invention in the best form now known tome, the slitted sheet metal is stretched or expanded by-continuously drawing the sheet metal forward trans; versely to the slits against a suitable resistance, so as to open the slits in the line of feed, ptcferably by feeding, the sheet forward by two or more sets or pairs of feeding rolls operating upon thesheet successively and moving at successivelyhigher surface speeds, so that the higher speed rolls act as stretching rolls. Two sets of rolls only ntay be used, the second set acting as stretchihg rolls, but with these twd'sets are preferably used another set of rolls in advance of and moving at a slightly greater surface speed than the first set of stretching rolls, sons to give the metal a slightly further stretch and act as setting rolls, whi-ch overcomes any tendency of the stretched metal to change its form as it leaves the first set of stretching rolls and aids in assuring the uniformity and permanency of the mesh, The present invention includes in addition to,this preferred method and-machine, certain broad features of invention in methods and machines for stretchi-ng or expanding slittcd sheet metal which may be embodied in dill'erent forms.

' For a full understainling of the invention, a detailed description of a machine embodying all the features of thesame as ap wlied ih' thelnpreferrcd form in a machine or producing expanded metal of that class in which the metal stri )B are turned at an angle to the plane of the s ect, will now be given in connectit-in with the accon'ipanymg drawings,

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed becember 27, 1904. Serial No. 23,503.

patent d Oct. 13, 1968.

. matic, and with one of the P0 away for purpose of illustration, and showthe feeding action of the drawing and stretching, and of the setting rolls. 'Figs. 4 and 5 ex anded metal produced therefrom.

' The machine in the form shown includes the feeding rolls A, A and the two sets of stretching rolls B, B and C, C, the rolls 0,0,

The 1'0 s B, B are driven at a conch erably so as to be driven at the same rate of shaft speed, the relative sizes of the rolls A, A" and B, B, as shown, being such as to secure the desired stretching action for formingthe of Fig, 4, and the rolls C, C, as shown, being somewhat larger than rolls B, B so as to secure the desired surface speed ofthese rolls relatively to the rolls B, B. The gearing consisting of the gear 16 on the sliafit of roll A, which drives the shaft of roll B through gear 17 on the latter shaft. and an intermediate 18, gear.l7, in turn driving the shaft 0% ing of the same size. The rolls of each pair mes iirig together, these gears 21, 22 on rolls B acting to drive both roll Band roll C.

my and mounted in fixed wings, as. shown, but it is desirable that the uppler,

adjustable for'action on metal which is of nal section of the mac ine l isartly 1diiggrimparty to eat-[- are details oi one form of slit metal and the forinin thefinal stretching or setti-n rolls.

higher speed than the rolls A, A, this do din-g somewhat upon the ch aracter of the s itted I metal shown in Fig. 5 from the slitted metal between the rolls is shown in Fi e. .1- and 2 are eared together by gears of the same size The lower rolls A ,B, G ma be stations then lie specifically pointed out in the claims. '55 I shown all the rolls may be geared to ether 80 A', C being shown'in Fig. 2, gear 1*? on roll ing the machine operating. on a metal sheet. 60

peed than 75 7 roll 0 through gear 19 on the latter shaft 95 i and an 'intcrmedlate 20, gears 17 and 19- be-.

rolls A, B, C should be spring pressedand I Cir J desired position, ressure,

different thicknesses either before or after slitting and stretching. It is desirable, also, in making expanded metal of the class shown, in which the metal strips are turned at an angle to the plane of tlre sheet, and the portions joinin successiv'e'slits extend beow and above the" lane of'the sheet,that the rolls B, C shoul' be spring supported to permit an up. and down movement of the rolls under the desired ressure, as the metal passes betweenthe rol For this purpose, each of the rolls A, B, C, is mounted in a block 10 moving vertically inways 11 in the machine frame and is pressed downward by nuts 12 on bolts 14 above the blocks, which nuts act upon theblock through s rings 15, so that the bearing blocks 10 of a the rolls A, B, C are ressed down by springs 15, the tension of which is adjusted by the nuts 1.2. The rolls B, C, are also supported by springs 15 below the blocks 10, and the tension of these springs made adjustable by nuts 13 on bolts 14, so that, by the s ring pressure and adjustment above and be ow these rolls, the and movement of these rolls may be secured.

The feeding rolls A, A are ribbed or roughened or formed in any suitable manher so as to secure the desired'hold upon the slitted metal, these rolls bein'g'shown as provided with small ribs 1 extending throughout the len th of the rollers. The rolls B, B and C, form feeding devices and are also ribbed or otherwise formed so as to assure the proper hold on the metal for the feeding and stretching action, and, with expanded metal of the form shown, these rolls are preferably provided with feeding teeth or ribs of the in which the forward surfaces of the feeding teeth or ribs 2 are substantially at right angles to the plane of the sheet, so as to assure a positive feed of the metal by the engagement of these surfaces with the projecting portions of the metal. As shown in Fig. 3, the teeth on the upper roll B engage the projecting portions above the metal sheet and thus assure its positive feed. If the sheet were turned upside down, the teeth on the roll B would secure the same result.

The proper distance between the rolls i A and B, B will vary to some extent with the character of the metal, the width of the sheet and the form of the mesh to be produeed, and it is desirable that the rolls A, A

and B, B should be relatively adjustable, to secure the best results, and in order that the same machine may be used to produce metal of different mesh. For this purpose, the rolls A, A are shown as carried in frame "23 mounted to slide on the base 24 of the machine and adjustable by screws .25 having hand wheels 2:

The metal is shown. as drawn by the feeding rolls A, A over table I), but it will be form shown in detail in Fig. 3,

understood that the slit metal may be delivered to the rolls A, A in any suitable manner.

The operation of the machine will be understood from a brief description in connection with the drawings. As shown clearly in Fig. 2, the sheet of slit metal .1 is unstretched until it passes the rolls A, A and the slits may be opened slightly by the slit ting knives, as shown in Fig. 4, or otherwise.

As the metalleaves the rolls A, A under the stretching action of the rolls B, B, however, the metal commences to stretch or extend longitudinally and the slits are thus gradually opened and the mesh formed, the width of the metal sheet decreasing correspondingly, until the metal is fully stretched, and the meshes completely formed. The gradual operation of stretching or extending the metal by opening the meshes and narrowing the sheet, is illustrated in Fig. 2, 1: showing the portion of the sheet which is undergoing stretching between the rolls A, A and B, B. A machine employing only the feeding rolls A, A and the strctel'iing rolls B, may be used, but in the preferred construction shown, the metal 1' is stretched slightly between the stretching rolls B, B and U, C, which avoids any tendency of the metal meshes to change form after the metal passes the rolls B, B, and sets the mesh so as to assure its pro er form and permanency. The portion of t e metal under oing this second stretching between the rolls. B and C, C is shown at m in Fig. 2, and, as the metal does not substantially change its form after leaving the rolls B, B, the completed metal of Fig. 5 is similarly lettered.

With the rolls A, A and B, B relatively adjustable, the machine may heused ith metal slit in many different ways, am the product of the machine'ma be of widely different forms in respect to orm and size of mesh and character of the metal sheet. To produce a smaller mesh, or with a narrower sheet of slit metal or thinner sheet metal, the rolls A, A and B, B will be closer together, while with longer slits for producing a larger mesh,. and with a wider sheet or thicker metal, the distance between the rolls A, A and B, B will be increased. The relative surface s code of the feeding and stretching rolls will we varied somewhat, also, according to the character of the slitted metal and the product :cquired. In the machine illustrated, which I have used with good resu ts, the diameter of the first set of stretching rolls is about three times that ol' the feeding rolls, thus giving a relative surface speed of about three to one and, as shown, the diam flier and surface speed of the second set of stretching rolls is very little more than of the first set.

it will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to a method and machine for producing metal in which the metal. strips etc-toe .si'ststrce required to open the slits to form the m'csli while the portion of'tl'i'e' sheet to 1 which the resistance is spelled moves .fo-i '2 1 Ward in the direction in which theshee't is cli alwn,

2. The method of stretching or expanding slltte'd sheet metal, which consists in drawing the slitted sheet forward by rotating rolls transversely to the slits and holding the sheet against the drawing movement so as to pro- .duce the resistance required to open the slits to form the mesh While the portion held moves forward. y s 3. The method of stretching or expanding the slitted sheet forward transversely tov the slits feeding rolls and dt'a'wing the sheet from the feeding-rolls by" stretching rolls ro ta-ting at s'highcr surface speed thcnthe feeding rolls.

the slit/ted sheet forward transversely to the slits by feedin rolls,v drawing the sheet from the feeding ro'lsby stretchingrolls rotating at a higher surface speed than the: feetling rolls, and adv'ztmzing the stretched sheetfrom 5. In a machine for stretching or expand. in'g slitted sl'ieet metal, the combination with means for drawing the slitte'd sheet for'wstrd transversely to theslits, of means for apply mg to the sheet the resistance to its forward movement required to open the slits to form the mesh While the portion of the sheet to which the resistance is-stppl-icd moves tor Ward in the (lirec'tion'in which the sheet is drawn.

6. lnsumac/hiss for stretching or exp-anding' slittcd'shcet metal, the: combination with strctching rolls acting to draw the slitte'd sheet forward transversely to the slits, of me ads for a plying to the sheet the resistance to its forward movement required to open the slits to form the mesh. l

7 In a machine for stretching or expanding slit-ted sheet metal, the comhinittion' with stretching rolls acting to draw the slittcd shoot forward transversely to the slits, of moans tor applying to the sheet the resistcncc to its orword movement required to open the slits to form the mesh, and feeding ffiifl toits open the slits to form themesh, and a. second 5- I set of stretching rolls moving at a slightly 5 hi her surface spe'ed th cm the first stretching 1 ing slltte'd sheet m tal, the combination with 5 sheet feeding rolls, of'str'etching rolls rotating tztting, at slightly higher slfi'fac'e speed than thefirst set of stretching rolls. sl 'ttted sheet metal, which consists in feeding 3 ingslitted sheet metal, the combination with spring pressed sheet fcc'diiigrolls for advcnc- ,mg the slit sheet, of sfir'ir'lg pressed stretch devices in seivsece of the stretching rolls moving at a slightly higher speed than the stretching rolls.

8-. In a: machine lorstretclring or expending slittcd sheet metal, the combination with 7 stretching rollsacting to, draw the slitted sheet iqrwztrd t'rtnsversely' to the slits, of means fo'i' agplying to the sheet the resistorwitrd movement required toro is.

9. In a machine for stretching 01" ex and st s higher, surface speed than the feeding re s.

I 10. In a, machine for stretching or expand trig sjlitte'd sheet metal, the cornbn'izttion with sheet feeding rolls, of stretching rolls rotating at it higher. stiffstce speed than the feeding tolls, and 9; second set of stretching rolls r'o-' 11: In st-i'nsch-ine fofstretching or ex andsheet, of spring ressed stretching rolls r0-' tating transverse y to theslits at a higher '95" sitlfitce speed than the feeding rolls.

4. The method of stretching or expanding F slitted sheet metal, which consists in feeding 12. In a: machine for stretching or expanding slitted sheet metal, the combination; with :she'et feeding rolls for advancing the slit sheet, of spring jtcting transverse jsur'fa'c'e speed than the feeding rolls, and I means for sdjtisting the spring p'i'essur'c. I

the stretel'ling rolls by rolls rotating zit at;

y to the slits'at a higher l3. In a machine for stretching or expend ios in'g rolls 'rotoiti-ng transversely to the slits at a higher surface speed than the feeding foils.

M. In 8, machine for'strctcliing or expandhighcf surface speed than the fccdingrolls, and menins for adjusting the spring-pressure on thefecding and stretching rolls.

Y5; In a machine for stretching or 'cx mnding slitted sheet metal, the combination with speed than the feeding rolls, a, second sct of 0 1 I o 3 ing slitted-sh'set metal, the combinittion with spring pi' esse'd sh'ce't feeding rolls for mlvonoing the slit sheet, of springpressexi stretching tolls rotating transversely to the slits at a,

spring pressed st retelling rolls, and means for adjusting the spring pressure. 7

17. in a a arhine 'f'or stretching or expanding slittrd shoot me al, the combination with sheet feeding rolls for advancing the slit sheet, of stretching rtlls rotating transversely to the slits at a higher surface speed than the feeding rolls, and means for adusting the distance between the feeding and stretching rolls.

18. In a machine for stretching or expanding slitted sheet metal, the combination with sheet feeding rolls for advancing the slit sheet, of stretching rolls rotating transversely to the slits at a higher surface speedv than the feeding rolls, and means for adjusting the feeding rolls toward and from the stretching rolls.

19. In ex anded metal feeding devices, a pair of fee ing rolls spring pressed toward andaway from. each other and. provided with metalfeeding teeth formed by ribs extending lo'fitudinally of the rolls, in combination Wit means for adjusting the opposing spring pressures.

20. Expanded metal feeding rolls B, B, on 0 posite sides of the feeding plane having feeding ribsi2 formed with their forward surfaces at approximately right angles to the plane of the metal.

-21. In a machine for stretching or expand ing slitted sheet metal the combination with means for feeding the slitted sheet forward. transversely to the slits, of means for apply ing tension to thesheet forward of the feeding means to 0 )en the slits to form the mesh.

22. A. machine for forming expanded metal, consisting of means for continuously feeding a slitted strip, and means for engaging the. surfaces of the strip and continuously operating upon. the strip to open the slits in a single plane.

23. A machine for forming expanded metal, including a pair of rolls for engaging the surfaces of a slitted strip and opening the slits laterally in a single plane.

24. A machine for forming metal, including a plurality of pairs of rolls for engaging the surfaces of a slitted strip and opening the slits laterally, one of said pairs of rolls having a dill'crei'it surface speed.

from the other rolls. V

25. In machii'ie for manufacturing expanded metal, a train of rolls for suceessivel y operating upon a slitted strip, and means for glving the rolls differential surface speeds.

26. In a machine for stretching or (X- panding sheet metal, a pair of ro is for continuously feeding and holding tlie slit-ted stock, and a second pair of rolls for continuously operating upon the stock to open the slits.

l l l l l l l l i l i l l l l l l l l l l cxpanoel l i l l l l 27. in a machine for forming expanded sheet metal, means for drawing out the strands of a transv *rsely slitted material in the direction of the line of feed.

)5. in a machine for stretching or expanding a previously slilted sheet of metal, a plurality of pairs of rolls having differential peri 'iheral speeds for engaging the surfaces of the metal and opening the slits.

2U. in a machine for strelrhing or e.\- panding metal sheets previously slilted transversely, a plurality of pairs of cylindrical rolls for engaging the opposit surfaces of the metal, and means for giving the rolls dill'erential peripheral speeds.

230. The method of manufarturing expanded metal which includes the continuous engagement of the surfaces of a slitled sheet along the lines of the bonds and entirely across the sheet for opening the slits.

231. The method of manufacturing, b:\' panded, metal which includes the coutiuubus engagement; of the surfaces of a slittdd sheet along the lines of the bonds and straight across the sheet for opening the slits.

32. Anew" and improved method of manufacturing expanded metal, which comprises slitting the metal to form strands and then continuously feeding the slit-ted sheet and opening the slits by drawing out the strands by surface engagement of the metal.

33. The method of manufactnring e);- panded metal comprising lirst, slitting metal to form strands, second, feeding the slitted sheet at right angles to the direction of the slits, and third, engaging the rands parallel to lie slits to form openings.

34. 'lhe method of niaiuifacturing expanded metal which comprises continuously feeding a slittcd sheet at right angles to the direction of the slits, and opening the slits in.

the direction of the line of food.

35. The method of manufacturing expanded sheet metal, which consists in forming alternating slits in the metal, feeding the metal in a direct ion at right angles to the slits and engaging the metal at a plurality of lines substantially at right angles to the diri-ct on of feed of the metal to open the slits.

ib. in a machine for malring impanded metal, a roll rot at g transversely to theslits and provided wii h, teeth to engage the bonds and draw out the strands. to expand the metal.

in testimony whereof, I have hereuiiito set my hand, in thepresenee of two subscribing w itnesscs.

l l ltlllNAN i.) if. \VEN 1 El 111.

\r'ilnesscs:

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